If the Pub forum were alive today, I'd just holler "it's my birthday!" and let it go at that.
But since I want to honor Dale's dicta, I'll make it whistle-related.
If you had $100 to $200 to spend on one special whistle, readily available through normal commerce, what would it be? And, importantly, why?
I'm thinking I want one of Ralph and Walter's Sweetheart professional models. I love my Elfsongs and maple Busman, but you know how it goes.
My requirements aren't stringent, but I do have a few concerns. I'm concerned about (ahem) "condensation" as well as ease of going up the octaves. Something not shrill and the feeling of being a nice, "housebroken" whistle, friendly in a small space would be good.
So, is it Sweetheart? I don't have one of those yet. Another Busman? (In spite of being a little above my price specifications.) Something I haven't considered yet?
Your happy birthday girl,
M
Whistle wish list
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mvhplank
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Whistle wish list
Marguerite
Gettysburg
Gettysburg
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StewySmoot
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Happy 29th Birthday, Marger, Marghai, murge, mvhplank!
You be talking High D whistle, right? My Busman D is getting a lot of time right now because of its sweet sound. It is the first one I reach for.
Chris
You be talking High D whistle, right? My Busman D is getting a lot of time right now because of its sweet sound. It is the first one I reach for.
Chris
<a href="http://www.whistletotheworld.com/" target="_blank"> Whistle to the World</a>
Helping underprivileged kids learn music via the Irish Whistle.
Helping underprivileged kids learn music via the Irish Whistle.
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Congratulations
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Re: Whistle wish list
I would definitely get a Bleazey. I've coveted those since I saw them the first time, and after watching Mr. Hardy's Pro-file, I just want one even more... Yumm...
Oh, and Happy Birthday!
Oh, and Happy Birthday!
oh Lana Turner we love you get up
Happy birthday!
Hmmm....if I had $100 to spend on whistles...I'd spend $5 on another blue top Generation like the one I've been playing so much lately and then just bank the remaining $95.
Hmmm....if I had $100 to spend on whistles...I'd spend $5 on another blue top Generation like the one I've been playing so much lately and then just bank the remaining $95.
Last edited by blackhawk on Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which is least known--Montaigne
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light
--Plato
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light
--Plato
A very happy birthday to you! I happen to think very highly of the Sweetheart. I've never had any sort of clogging issue with mine; its carefree and well-behaved. But the sound is very different from a Busman -- purer I would say, and not as round a tone. I've never been one to collect duplicate whistles, so I can't advocate getting a second, but Paul's work is so beautiful you can hardly think of two of them as being duplicates of anything, right?
Another thing to consider...have you thought of different keys rather than your standard D?
Sadly, both my Sweetheart and Busman are currently 'on the road' so I can't do more of a compare/contrast.
Hope you're day is special,
Tyg
Another thing to consider...have you thought of different keys rather than your standard D?
Sadly, both my Sweetheart and Busman are currently 'on the road' so I can't do more of a compare/contrast.
Hope you're day is special,
Tyg
Remember, you didn't get the tiger so it would do what you wanted. You got the tiger to see what it wanted to do. -- Colin McEnroe
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IDAwHOa
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- Tell us something.: I play whistles. I sell whistles. This seems just a BIT excessive to the cause. A sentence or two is WAY less than 100 characters.
Re: Whistle wish list
Congratulations wrote:I would definitely get a Bleazey. I've coveted those since I saw them the first time, and after watching Mr. Hardy's Pro-file, I just want one even more... Yumm...
Oh, and Happy Birthday!
Happy 21st. (no, they are NOT for you. My wife would disown me. Just dream material)
Steven - IDAwHOa - Wood Rocks
"If you keep asking questions.... You keep getting answers." - Miss Frizzle - The Magic School Bus
"If you keep asking questions.... You keep getting answers." - Miss Frizzle - The Magic School Bus
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RonKiley
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Happy Birthday Margaruite. A new whistle for your birthday sounds like a nice idea. You already have a nice Busman. The Sweetheart Pro, a Burke, a Humphreys, a Bleazey, they all sound good to me.
I would get a Humphreys wide bore C, D set since I already have a Narrow bore D, Eb set.
Ron
I would get a Humphreys wide bore C, D set since I already have a Narrow bore D, Eb set.
Ron
I've never met a whistle I didn't want.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Perhaps when the pub opens we could have a party for you.Try saying ''Whistle wish list'' three times as fast as you can. Then try spelling what you said?
Edited to include hope you find a great whistle.
Last edited by Tommy on Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:33 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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brewerpaul
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Black Mage
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Well, I'm still new to the whistle scene, but off the top of my head I'd say I'd get a Kerry Songbird Low D. Though those Bleazeys look really nice too and have a really good, solid sound too. I may need to look into these further.
Last edited by Black Mage on Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Playing the whistle is nothing impressive. All one has to do is cover the right holes at the right time, and the instrument plays itself."
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mvhplank
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Thank you, each and every one!
I had a lovely, long lunch with a dear friend. My fortune cookie gave me a pretty standard proverb, but on the back of the fortune it offered to teach me one Chinese word--"birthday"! What are the odds...?
I went to tae kwon do class and then stopped to see a dear friend and lift a glass of port (red, not tawny).
I'm not familiar with Bleazy whistles, but the pictures are beautiful. Anybody got a web site for them? And Tyg's right about the Busmans--I could keep buying different woods and never be bored.
You're all very flattering in your age estimates, and I'll say nothing to shatter the illusion.
I'll leave it at "still young enough to get into mischief and old enough to have figured out how not to get caught."
Thanks to all for helping me finish the day with a little bit of glow that I can't entirely attribute to the port!
Fondly,
M
I had a lovely, long lunch with a dear friend. My fortune cookie gave me a pretty standard proverb, but on the back of the fortune it offered to teach me one Chinese word--"birthday"! What are the odds...?
I went to tae kwon do class and then stopped to see a dear friend and lift a glass of port (red, not tawny).
I'm not familiar with Bleazy whistles, but the pictures are beautiful. Anybody got a web site for them? And Tyg's right about the Busmans--I could keep buying different woods and never be bored.
You're all very flattering in your age estimates, and I'll say nothing to shatter the illusion.
I'll leave it at "still young enough to get into mischief and old enough to have figured out how not to get caught."Thanks to all for helping me finish the day with a little bit of glow that I can't entirely attribute to the port!
Fondly,
M
Marguerite
Gettysburg
Gettysburg
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The Weekenders
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Birthday wishes, Marguerite. I'd make an appointment with Mike Burke, drive up there and pick out one. I know its, what, five or six hours or am I way off in my geography? Or if he comes for some event closer to you, he travels with multiples for sale.
I purchased an Eb brass blacktip from Mike at the SF Tionol. It's so much better to choose one from several than to order one by mail, find that it SEEMS good etc but always wonder if you could have had a better one.
I have to say that the Eb is a phenomenal whistle and got positives from crotchety old/young Murphy as well as Tony at the last whistle gathering.
Further, here is exactly what happened. Mike had four of the Ebs. I had a tuner with me, found a quiet place and spent a fair bit of time. It was down to two. One I really liked, but it had a note I didn't care for. The other was more even, but not quite as sweet. I took the bunch back to Mike. He said, "Show me the one that is closest to what you like." Then, instead of trying to fix that one, he took another one, did something to it when he was back in his hotel room and brought it back the next day. That was the one I bought and its a great whistle.
That experience has made me never want to buy another whistle by mail which leaves me perplexed as all the builders I am interested in live very far away from here. You all might say, well, send it back if you don't like it. But until you have experienced a builder's range within the same model,you just don't know what the variation is and you don't feel justified sending it back if its basically good, but VAGUELY un-good. Also, considering whistles are not as expensive as many other musical instruments, you feel like a weenie making too many demands. But if you have a spread before you, the problem is solved.
THis would likely apply to the other builders mentioned, too, though I know that for example, getting an ORiordan is not blessed with choice.
But getting back to Mike, I know for a fact that Joanie Madden picked through a LOT more than me of the same whistle before settling on one.
Its not exactly the way the builder wants to do business because its time consuming, etc. but it worked for me.
Good luck.
I purchased an Eb brass blacktip from Mike at the SF Tionol. It's so much better to choose one from several than to order one by mail, find that it SEEMS good etc but always wonder if you could have had a better one.
I have to say that the Eb is a phenomenal whistle and got positives from crotchety old/young Murphy as well as Tony at the last whistle gathering.
Further, here is exactly what happened. Mike had four of the Ebs. I had a tuner with me, found a quiet place and spent a fair bit of time. It was down to two. One I really liked, but it had a note I didn't care for. The other was more even, but not quite as sweet. I took the bunch back to Mike. He said, "Show me the one that is closest to what you like." Then, instead of trying to fix that one, he took another one, did something to it when he was back in his hotel room and brought it back the next day. That was the one I bought and its a great whistle.
That experience has made me never want to buy another whistle by mail which leaves me perplexed as all the builders I am interested in live very far away from here. You all might say, well, send it back if you don't like it. But until you have experienced a builder's range within the same model,you just don't know what the variation is and you don't feel justified sending it back if its basically good, but VAGUELY un-good. Also, considering whistles are not as expensive as many other musical instruments, you feel like a weenie making too many demands. But if you have a spread before you, the problem is solved.
THis would likely apply to the other builders mentioned, too, though I know that for example, getting an ORiordan is not blessed with choice.
But getting back to Mike, I know for a fact that Joanie Madden picked through a LOT more than me of the same whistle before settling on one.
Its not exactly the way the builder wants to do business because its time consuming, etc. but it worked for me.
Good luck.
How do you prepare for the end of the world?
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Wombat
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Happy birthday.
Just restricting this to high Ds, and to whistles I don't have already, and discounting O'Riordan which I'd love to try but not at the current going price, I'd suggest Grinter. It's probably outside your budget and, like most people who buy Grinters, I have the low F, but I think they would all be superb whsitles. Just outside your budget I think is Rose; that's another I'd like to try.
Others I'd like to try are Humphry and Greenwood. That's about all; I have a lot more than I really need. (My current favourites are Busman and Sindt.)
Just restricting this to high Ds, and to whistles I don't have already, and discounting O'Riordan which I'd love to try but not at the current going price, I'd suggest Grinter. It's probably outside your budget and, like most people who buy Grinters, I have the low F, but I think they would all be superb whsitles. Just outside your budget I think is Rose; that's another I'd like to try.
Others I'd like to try are Humphry and Greenwood. That's about all; I have a lot more than I really need. (My current favourites are Busman and Sindt.)